The best parts of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, for me, are when the author describes experiments that show how deeply rooted prejudice can be, for instance that we don’t process “out-group” faces as deeply as more familiar faces, or that we do not notice nonverbal slights against minority characters in TV shows (and the actors in the shows may not notice either!). Other chapters present a more standard recitation of past and present racism horrors of various types. Sadly, there’s not a whole lot that can be done to change implicit bias, although training can, blessedly, avoid applying the biases blindly.

Want a light but not completely silly book for summer? Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe fits the bill. It stars a carefully composed set of characters, from the pater familias settling uncomfortably into retirement, his wife who is on a house decorating frenzy, their heartbroken and bored son, and assorted house visitors. Minor drams ensue.

I kep wondering why the wealthy couple employs a personal assistant (so fancy!) and a gardener (reasonable) but no housekeeper. It may be better to not think too much about such details.

Women who read Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger already know that girls are raised not to express their anger, and that angry women are seen as threatening, even crazy. The author suggests (without scientific proof, alas) that anger that cannot be expressed can also cause physical pain and depression. And she explores how anger in men is, on the other hand celebrated or at least excused. I thought that the unrelenting tone of outrage was a bit much (would I have accepted it better from a man?) and that the length could have been pruned, but the topic is certainly interesting.

Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss stars an aging and famous economist who, after a bike accident in England, is told to reduce his stress. He has lived his whole life as a brainy professor, aloof, divorced from the real world, and, not surprisingly, estranged from his wife and adult children. Surely, it will be a cinch to show his children that he is smart and always right.

He arranges a sabbatical at what is clearly UC Irvine but very strangely called UC Bella Vista (why? not clear; there’s another passage in the book when he sees the Great Lakes while flying from Hong Kong to California, so the writer may be geography challenged). While there, he tries to connect with his struggling teenage daughter, attends a new-age retreat at Esalen, and tries to understand his son’s self-help business in Hong Kong (hence the strange plane route). The story exposes him, very sweetly, as the misanthropic, clueless person he’s always been, and delightfully does not end on a complete success, although he does take huge stride towards a more human version of itself. Very funny but also a very kind portrait of a nerd trying to reform.

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South is a professional historian’s account of the role of women in slavery, concluding with the perhaps obvious statement that they (or at least some of them) were eager and often sophisticated actors in slavery. To make her argument, she cites legal records showing gifts of slaves to women (even girls), lawsuits between wives and husbands for control of slave ownership, and sales records proving that women were active and savvy traders. The details are stomach turning.

When a serial killer is caught, what happens to his family? A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming shows us how harrowing it is to discover that one’s father killed (and tortured!) many people. Sure, he was a man with a temper, but no one in the family suspected him, and he seemed content to continue his relationship with them as if nothing had happened.

The story could have been edited to make for a much more solid outcome, but the theme is heartbreaking.